IMO the Hsunchen realise they aren't actually animals, and that they have to make some concessions to this fact. They believe they have the soul of the animal, sure, and they try to emulate it as much as they can. A case in point are the bat-hsunchen of the Shan-Shan mountains. I rather doubt they sleep hanging upside down (although they probably do live in caves), and I'm sure they don't fly every night - although obviously their Transform Limbs spell would let them do that when it was needed. Their nature would be reflected in being nocturnal and to some extent in eating habits, as well, of course, as in their overall outlook on life and the nature of their mythology, gender relations, etc.
Likewise, IMHO dolphin Hsunchen wouldn't have to spend their entire lives at sea, and certainly not underwater. They'd spend a lot of time at sea, sure, but being poor inferior humes, they'd have to do a lot of their travelling in boats. The boats - I think they're more likely to be rafts actually - could be quite large, and carry a whole family for an extended period, provided they had rain-water to drink and plenty of fish to catch. Again, the Polynesians seem to have managed this (unless somebody wants to correct me, it isn't my strong point).
They would also spend some time on land, gathering the materials to make the boats, etc. I don't see this as a contradiction with their dolphin-based lifestyle, just a necessary reflection of their physical nature as humans. In short, I still feel that dolphin-Hsunchen would be a worthwhile field to explore, especially in the unlikely event my players were ever to visit the Eastern Isles!
For what it's worth, I'd suggest that the divine spells for dolphin
Hsunchen would be:
Flukes (Transform Limbs) - removes the need for a swimming skill, as with the
Triloni races.
Submerge (Transform Body) - allows the subject to hold their breath for hours
at a time, again like the Triolini.
Watersense (Transform Head) - gives the subject sonar. [I don't see the
dolphin Hsunchen calling it 'darksense', although that's what it is, hence
the different name].
All hail the Reaching Moon!
Trotsky
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